


Taste Buds

by TentacleTitties



Category: Luigi's Mansion (Video Games)
Genre: Because I am a simple freak who likes girls getting tentacled, Cause i'm a freak and not a creep, E Gadd's an amoral sweetie, F/M, Genderbent Mario Bros, It'll be clearly consensual soon though so don't worry, Luigi's Mansion, Only one though and it's a tongue so it's pretty vanilla all things considered, Tentacles, dubcon, plot divergence, possible voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:00:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26471521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TentacleTitties/pseuds/TentacleTitties
Summary: Think, the first Luigi's Mansion. But Luigi's a she, and it gets heated real quick!
Relationships: King Boo & Luigi, King Boo/Luigi, Professor E. Gadd & Luigi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	1. Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> Hello from the other side of the world. This is my first fic so be nice to me in the comments. This is VERY loosely based off of this "Yandere KB with genderbent Weegie" fic that I accidentally stumbled upon while perusing Wattpad. (May that site burn) And I thought to myself... "I can do better." SO I DID! And with my own little twist on things, what do ya know!
> 
> This is no shade to the author who wrote it, you showed me the idea and I took it. You seem like a nice gal so if you see this and figure out i'm talking bout you, HI! Your fics are a guilty pleasure for me! love you~!

She eyed the pamphlet with heavily casted scrutiny. Lucy never remembered entering any sort of contest, much less one that she won…  _ EVER _ . And winning her an admittedly nice mansion for that matter…

But here this strange piece of glittering parchment was, claiming that she had done just that and won said mansion with apparent ease. By doing practically nothing… 

She had brief flashbacks of all the times Daisy had jokingly accused her of hardly lifting a finger to win most of her sporting tournaments, but that was only really on the account that Lucy just had a ridiculous amount of luck in her favor.

Even with all that said, a large part of her believed this was just a bit of scam mail. Afterall, it was from a company she had never even heard of and there wasn't any return address that she could see, nor any website url printed onto it that she could contact. Only an address for the mansion itself and a map to get to it.

Lucy would've just tossed it in the trash without sparring another thought and called it a day. That is, if her older sister, Mary hadn't caught sight of it herself and snatched it out of their sister’s hand in blind excitement. The stout woman, far more adept at being an opportunist and risk taker compared to her sister, was quick to suggest at least checking it out.

Lucy, of course, was more than a little hesitant of just waltzing over to some large mansion that might not even exist and checking it out. But, was eventually tided over by Mary suggesting that she went over to it an hour earlier than Lucy, so that if it was just a scam; Mary could just call her and let her know, save her sensitive little sister the embarrassment.

And that would be the end of that.

**_Well…_ **

Lucy had agreed to the arrangement, and watched her sister head out the door in a rush. Stars in her bright blue eyes at the wild fantasy of finally living in luxury, after all those times of fighting a giant lizard and hardly getting anything more than a thank you kiss, and some cake out of that pink princess.

And Lucy had  _ waited _ .

She had waited for about an hour.  _ Maybe more _ ... 

_ No call from Mary. No text. Nothing at all… _

  
  


Lucy whined loudy, several missed calls to Mary had made her concerns all the more stark as the phone clutched tightly in her hands started to shake along with her. She eyed the map next to her on the counter, glaring daggers into it as if it was the map’s fault her sister hadn’t been picking up. Not to mention that she had to go now, she made a deal with Mary after all…

With another defeated wail, she made a grab for the map.

Brambles and roots clawed at her from every angle, their dead leaves crunching loudly beneath her boots as she navigated her way through the dense and damp foliage that surrounded her. Looking up past the black wood of the trees overhead, the sky looked… wrong. It was so cloudy and dark, obscuring any sort of comforting blue or even stars. Instead, taking on this otherworldly swirl of a moldy green.

Lucy froze suddenly in her wandering, when she had finally caught sight of the mansion she was looking for. Although, she had to take a minute to have it fully process with her that  _ this  _ even was the right place, glancing down at the more flattering depiction on the pamphlet in her hand and back up at the old looking mansion to compare...

Well, it existed… but this looked nothing at all like what they tried to advertise in the brochure.

It was a tall, mossy green and decrepit looking structure. Like the mansion had been abandoned without any proper maintenance for countless decades. She swore she caught parts of its rotten walls crumbling before her eyes, but it was all relatively obscured in the heavy fog of the chilling area. Leaving such details hidden in the shadowy shapes of their mass.

Mary would have certainly had to have called her about this mansion… There was no way her sister was that optimistic about something so… Haunting.

_...Maybe she had the wrong house?  _

Lucy looked down at the map in her hands, having to cling tighter onto the paper so it did not blow away in the sudden harsh wind of the forest as it rushed past her in an apparent hurry. Deeming as if it was trying to get as far away from the taunting structure as possible.

Something she wanted nothing more than to do just about now herself…

But, then there was that uncomfortable weight settling in her stomach. A common feeling she did not care much for.

**Fear.** But the worst part of it was, that the fear was overshadowed by the concern for her sibling’s well-being.

Something was wrong here… Terribly wrong. A few desperately made dials to her phone went unanswered on Mary’s side and only added more anxiety to Lucy, who cursed under her shaky breath. She looked back up at the mansion above her, and almost jumped. 

She could've sworn she wasn’t this close to it before... Only several feet away from the decrepit building and could just barely make out it's features. but apparently, she was already at its withered stone steps before she even knew it. Practically beckoning her to enter within it's ruined walls.

Inevitably, another gust of wind had caught her off guard enough to snatch the map from her clammy hands in a violent tug. Leaving Lucy to call out for it helplessly as it whipped and flapped away into the heavy fog of the surrounding forest. Disappearing from her limited sight.

She audibly gulped. Turning back to face the mossy building before her. 

She had this stupid gut feeling that Mary was somewhere inside. Unfortunately, knowing her older sister, Mary probably had thought to not judge the book by it’s decayed cover and ventured inside for a better look.

Lucy groaned pitfully, but resigned to her fate as she started to climb the cobbled steps beneath her.

She couldn’t help, but to at least give a knock at the door. It was weak and shy, granted. But she felt it paid to at least be polite. Heck, maybe if she was lucky enough, Mary, or at least somebody, anybody would answer the door and she could properly ask some basic questions. But, no. Of course not.

Lucy was lucky, but not terribly so…

Turning the knob, the door wailed as it was pushed open. And to Lucy’s surprise, the inside somehow felt a whole lot colder than the outside, which sent goosebumps to pebble across her skin as she shuddered.

“Hello…? M-Maarryy…?” She squeaked, voice shaking from both the fear and the cold as she finally struck the nerve to peak her head inside.

It was a massive welcome hall, which was about as welcoming as the rest of the mansion itself. Withered floorboards creaked and moaned at the smallest of pressure given to them, threatening to give out under Lucy’s feet as she cautiously stepped inside the old manor. 

Spiderwebs were everywhere. One particular spot was so bad, that it had enveloped a door that settled between two large staircases leading up to the second floor. Making it just about impossible to enter through it.

She jumped when she heard something whistle past her. But, She quickly figuring that there were so many corroded gaps in the home because of oversized rats and mold, and that had caused a terrible draft to blow in every now and then. Especially given the constant chills that would rake across her back like the spider legs that had run across these webs.

Then, something flickered in Lucy’s eyes from the top of the stairwell. It was a bright yellow that flew by quickly into a door atop the aged steps. Lucy couldn’t help but become avidly curious about the odd light, It felt important, hopeful even. And she just wanted anything to distract her from the current setting that threatened to suffocate her.

Lucy climbed the stairs with a snail’s pace. It’s constant creeks and growls would send her on the edge every time, the very real fear of them finally caving under her and her ending up with either splinters or broken bones from the fall had her sometimes stretching her legs across the steps, trying to skip one or two of the more noisier ones to avoid such a fate.

The door above Lucy opened a lot similarly to the main entrance, squealing as it was hesitantly opened with Lucy stepping inside.

It looked to have been once a common sitting room, one with a more refined and rich set of decor. But, that had long since gone to waste like the rest of the building, as dust had piled in heaps on surfaces. And the chairs and rug had looked a little beat up.

Lucy had just about enough of this place already. There was no sort of bright and yellow light present in this room, and she was about 89% sure she had probably hallucinated it in her current hysteria. Surely, it was at this point that Mary had the sense that this was a lost cause! There was no way she was that desperate for living in some mansion out in the middle of freaking nowhere! 

So where was she!?

"Mary!" Lucy wailed into the empty room. "Where are you?! I wanna go home already!"

Then something **laughed.**

Lucy immediately twisted her head to the sound, practically giving herself whiplash from the action.

It was a high pitched sort of cackle, though it's gargled nature had made it near unnatural.

Sweat beaded down Lucy's temple, still not seeing anything that could have possibly made such a sound. A stupid thought came to her, but she was scared and in denial at that point.

"Maaarrryyyy…?" She trembled, her voice dragging into a whimpering crawl as she tried and failed to calm her beating heart. "T-this isn't funny!! You know I hate being s-s-scared!!" 

That's when something pushed her.  **Hard.**

She fell to her side with a resounding thud, a small scream escaping her as she tried to get her bearings. The air felt heavy, making it hard for her to get onto her knees and see the glowing form of something ugly, and yellow.

It cackled again, a bit harsher this time. Clearly taking pleasure in seeing her so scared and helpless. Drool escaping its white and gaping maw, dribbling onto the floor in a thick, glowing substance that made Lucy shudder in disgust. Though, she clearly didn't have the time to focus much on that as the yellow specter moved in closer towards her.

The girl tried to back away from the thing, scrambling to her hands and dragging herself backwards away from it. However this attempt was quickly made useless as she felt her back hit a wall. She felt the hot sting of tears beginning to prick at her eyes, as she was forced to look directly at the yellow ghost in front of her.

It grinned wide as it began to flail wildly at her, making grabbing motions as she tried to sink further into the wall. A quiet scream began to pull from her throat as it was about to grab her face.

**It laughed again.**

Something in Lucy snapped and wasted no time in booking it for the doors nearby, crawling as fast as she could from the drooling ghost behind her as it seemed to squawk in surprise at her sudden getaway.

She wailed the entire time, even as she thrusted open the doors and ran down an unfamiliar hallway. Apparently, she had made a mistake, and only went further inside the mansion somehow, rather than outside it.

That didn't really matter much to her at that moment though. She was more concerned with finding her foolhardy sister and putting as much distance as she could between that yellow ghost and herself.

She opened doors at random, gunning through room after room without pause.

It wasn't until she made it to a large, unfinished room, that she finally paused for a breath. Gasping loudly for air to heal her burning throat as she leaned heavily against the door she came through…

There was this odd odor…

He'd woken slowly… lazily lifting his face upward, taking in the new scent with a few deep whiffs of the air above. Not yet mustering the will to open his eyes.

They had never really concerned themselves with paying much attention to minuscule details like an aroma in the air, but it was becoming quickly apparent to him that this invasive stench was becoming far from subtle to him…

The smell reminded him briefly of pine wood and dew, like a misty summer morning that let in a welcome chill from the woods. It was calming, almost sedating as he felt a part of himself melt slightly back onto the wooden floor beneath him, ready to fall back asleep again.

Of course, he quickly shook himself out of the strange stupor he found himself in.

He grew curious and began to focus in on the auras around him, trying to pinpoint the plausible source of the strange aroma. Ironically enough, such a calming scent traced itself back to this… Unfamiliar aura, one that jittered spastically, practically oozing fear and anxiety from every pore. And judging by the growing strength of both the stench and the aura, the soul was coming closer...

And fast.

The sudden sound of a door slamming shut and heavy panting was what quickly drew his attention next, finally opening his eyes open with a start. It jolted some of his lackeys awake as well...

It was in the room now.  _ They were so close... _

He connected the pieces together quickly enough, a large, almost manic grin stretching his face unnaturally. Displaying an array of sharp, dagger-like teeth.

All they had to do was press that big red button on the wall beside them, and the "surprise" could finally happen…

He felt his fellow ghosts buzz with poorly contained excitement at the mere prospect of it, just barely managing to remain quiet as to not scare the anxious soul off… He couldn't blame them really, he couldn't exactly help it himself either as he felt his face press up against the grate that kept him and his pals at bay, trying in vain to see his newfound prey.

  
  


**_Come on… Press that button…_ **

Lucy glanced around the room nervously when she finally caught her breath, though sweat had dribbled off her brow from the exertion of her jog.

As stated before, it was relatively wide and vacant compared to the rest of the rooms she had seen in this place. A few boxes in a corner, some stacked spare chairs next to them and a small mirror hanging off the wall not too far off from the pile, displaying the rather pitiful and exhausted state the poor girl was in. This was clearly once a storage room for whatever items the previous owners needed out of the way, given the drab and unfinished walls that sealed it.

The only real notable feature to it was this odd grate in the center of the room. Though when Lucy tried peering down into the holes of the cover, the prevailing darkness it held left little for her to gawk at. Though, she did get the uncomfortable sensation that she was the one being stared at the longer she lingered around it.

The only other item of interest was a bright red button on the wall next to it. Only slightly larger than your average light switch. She looked between both it and the sealed grate and figured the button probably opened it.

Truthfully, she didn't know what to really do in that situation. She was basically trapped in a room, hiding from that creepy yellow ghost that was probably hunting her down that very moment! And like there was much a room could do to come between an incorporeal ghost and its prey… She just wanted to escape this cursed mansion!

...And… maybe find her sister while she was at it…

She looked back at the button on the wall.

And then to the grate in the floor.

_...Maybe this could be like another way out, or something?  _ **_She is kinda curious..._ **

She didn't want to risk running into that ghost again while retracing her steps trying to find the exit, and it wasn't like she was paying much attention to where she was going while running from said ghost… She face palmed herself, feeling the sadly familiar self-loathing rising up in her belly.

No time for that! She had to keep moving! 

With one last breath and ignoring that oddly persistent warning in the back of her mind, she quickly pressed the big red button with halfhearted determination.

_...Then someone laughed. _

The grate opened with a startling force that made Lucy jump back instinctively, mist billowing up from the hole that opened up.

The booming laughter was now deafening, cackling with manic glee as other more smaller voices started cheering. 

Lucy screamed as a mass of white orbs shot out from the pit, chanting and raving about their freedom. Red tongues protruding out of their collective fanged mouths.

She was rooted to the wooden floor once again, stuck in both fear and awe at the scene in front of her. 

And that's when it came up from the small pit as well.

It was much larger than its friends, having to force its way through the tiny hole to escape. A round, white mass squeezing itself free with a resounding pop. The being shot up from the hole and showcasing all its horrific features to Lucy as an unwilling audience. 

And those glowing red eyes soon honed in on the shaking form of Lucy, shuddering when they began to cackle.

**_"Well well well… What have we got here?"_ ** The large ghost shot over to the poor woman, suddenly falling on her ass in shock from the sudden close proximity. The Boo beginning to look her up and down, as if judging whether or not to eat her. Do ghosts need to eat? If they do, do they eat people? 

Lucy quickly shook her head to escape her own thoughts, before they gave her another panic attack.

The ghost chuckled again, seeing his fellow boo run amok and escape through the walls to go haunt different rooms and not interfere with what their king had so obviously called dibs on.

He hummed for a moment, their toothy grin never leaving.  **_"You're a rather malnourished human, aren't you?"_ **

Lucy frowned in offense at that, but couldn't exactly find any sort of witty retort to fight back with… that was more her sister's thing.

So instead, she opted for begging. "P-P-Please don't e-eat me!" She cried, eyes focused on the large ghost's broad mouth that was lined with _ (apparently)  _ two rows of very sharp teeth that were about half the length of her forearm.

  
  


The ghost erupted Into a high, taunting laugh at her fearful cries. Leaving Lucy mentally kicking herself.  _ Great, her last words were gonna be wimpy and pathetic. How fitting… _

**_"Well… That IS quite an…"_ ** He chuckled a bit, and Lucy had to bite back another low whine as she watched him lick his all-too-sharp teeth.  **_"...Entertaining idea, girly. But, a bit too dull and anticlimactic of an end to your sad, short life, isn't it? And surely you deserve far more of a finish than that for freeing me and my subjects at least! I'm not an ungrateful king!"_ **

If Lucy wasn't shaking like a jackhammer before, she certainly was now. Every nerve in her body telling her to run, scream, cry, do anything to get out of this mansion and away from him. But no matter what she tried telling herself, she had remained rooted on the floor.

Another dumb, hopeful thought crossed Lucy's mind. Maybe this is where her dumb luck in doing nothing will get her out of this situation…

God, she wanted to slap herself for that thought.

The crowned Boo grinned crookedly, eyes now beaming a devilish red.  **_"So let's make it a game! Shall we?"_ ** The girl's eyes widened, a feeling of heavy dread creeping into her stomach and taking root in her intestines.

"H-huh…?" She whimpered.

**"Here's the rules of this game; I'll allow you a ten second head start, in which you are going to-"** He snorted.  **_"-_ ** **_Try_ ** **_to get away from me and escape my humble abode… But when I'm done counting…"_ ** He seemed to lean further towards her, and she saw a deep purple tongue loll out from his mouth and onto the wooden floor with a subtle, wet, smack. 

  
  


**_"Well… Let's think of it as a fun game of tag then..."_ ** The ghost said in a theatrically hushed voice. 

  
  


Lucy sat deathly still, a look of absolute horror at her situation and how this spirit was treating her struggle to live as nothing more than a game. One where she was certain the odds were completely stacked against her!

To her surprise the large boo backed up significantly to the middle of the room, his face now more relaxed with closed eyes and a small, snaggle-toothed smile.

Lucy managed to find her voice a little easier now. "W-what's gonna h-h-happen to me if you catch me…??"

His expression didn't change as he began counting down slowly.

  
  


**_"10…9… 8…"_ **

  
  


All remaining thoughts gone other than run, she briefly forgot she had been sitting and shot up from the floorboards and bolted for the door. Flinging the thing open and not bothering to close it behind her as she ran out. Not caring anymore about that yellow ghost that could have or couldn't have been roaming the halls looking for her.

As nothing was more terrifying than whatever that crowned boo had planned for her.

The wooden floorboards screeched beneath her in complaint from a sudden stomp of running feet, as Lucy all but flew down the old hallway at breakneck speeds. Once more running from a scary ghost who was looking to eat her alive.

She tried retracing her steps back to the front door, but found that nothing looked familiar and any door she tried in her blind desperation had been either locked or jammed. Every feeble tug she made on every door she passed felt like another stab to her dwindling hope for escape.

No, she was not ashamed of bawling like an absolute baby now.

Where was the exit? Where was her sister? Where was she in the mansion even?!

Her heart dropped into her stomach when she could hear the sound of a far off echo. Almost like a tiny whisper in her ear, as it's hushed notes taunted her with the syllables it uttered…

  
  


3….

  
  


_ 2... _

  
  


**_1._ **

  
  


A sudden loud and manic cackle rang out Into the mansion, causing Lucy to yelp as she pushed the surface of another door she had failed to open away from her, and took off deeper into the manor.

It was all so surreal. Like a bad dream. 

No matter how fast she was running, it always felt like she was a tiptoeing in molasses. It wasn't fast enough. She was going too slow. Too loud! No doubt it could hear her loud galloping on the old, creaky floorboards! She can't die here! She never even found her sister!

A low rumbling sound made its way up the hall and reaching her ears. He was moving, and fast.

It was a tauntingly subtle noise. Like a quick rush of air flying past a clear surface, a soft whoosh.

She would've preferred the loud stomping of running feet honestly… Because then, at least she would have known how close or how far her assailant was. But, no. She was only given hints on where this ghost was currently, only the progressing drop of temperature being another sign with the sound of rolling wind. Or maybe, that was just another draft in the mansion? She didn't know! She just knew she wanted out!

Something warm and dense smacked her onto the ground with a force, knocking the air out of the poor woman. Having her suddenly pinned by the heavy appendage that weighed heavily down on her back and face planted onto the wooden floor. It seemed to salvivate a bit, effectively dampening the clothes caught between her and the harsh pressure above.

**_"Caught you~..."_ ** A haunting voice hummed.

She gasped for air, the horror of her situation hitting her like a ton of bricks as she tried in vain to struggle free. She only managed to turn her head just enough to see what exactly was holding her down.

Oh god, she was being held down by that ghost's TONGUE! That purple, moist muscle itself was enough to keep her down! She could feel it's somehow hot breath blowing down on her, making her sweat.

It was going to eat her…

But, not before mocking her.

  
  


**_"Aww, poor thing thought they could actually run away…?"_ ** It  _ "asked" _ with a fake pout. Nearly sounding disappointed that the chase was so short.

He openly laughed at her second attempt at breaking free from under the weight, groaning piteously in exertion before falling to the floor in an exhausted heep. He found it was too cute.

**_"Now now, missy…"_ ** The ghost tutted above her.  **_"No sense in needlessly wearing yourself down like that now! There's no use too, after all… If you still have that excess energy, maybe you should've put more of it into our little chase, hmm?"_ ** He mocked. 

They were right... What was the point in struggling...? And even if she did break free, it probably wouldn't have last long either. She wasn't fast nor agile enough to try and evade them again. And even then... She knows we she couldn't just up and leave without her sister... Wherever she was... hopefully alive.

Lucy gave up then. And just decide to wait and hope the inevitable would be swift...

She waited… And waited… And waited a bit longer. Trying to prepare herself for what was to be the inevitable was a bit difficult, when the ghost seemed to remain completely still, as if thinking.

  
  


She heard a grunt. It was quiet, almost inaudible, but there was no mistaking it sounded above her.

  
  


She tried moving, squirming slightly to further turn her head to try and look up at the ghoul, but was only pushed deeper into the floorboards for her troubles. A low growl to echo the tiny whimper she made as a thick drop of pink drool pooled at her cheek. Far too close to her mouth as she could almost taste it. The thought caused her to shudder.

As if being a reaction, she then felt the large ghost drag their equally massive tongue upward. Every taste bud moving up against her goosebump riddled skin. She swore he dragged her along the ground beneath them, with that long muscle as it tasted more of her. Lucy could feel her face absolutely burning at this point. It all felt so weird and invasive, among other things...

She couldn't see much, given her compromising position. But, god could she feel it. An unsteady hot gust brushing against her wet nape, causing her to sweat under the thick layer of drool.

How close was he?  _ Was he about to eat her?  _ **_Oh god, this was it, wasn't it…?_ **

  
  


But, that's when he stopped suddenly. Their previous sounds of groaning delight were now replaced with a new, rattling noise that sounded like a strong vacuum. The ghost blubbered in what sounded like a question, before they let out a high  **_screech_ ** as they were suddenly pulled away from the cowering, soaked Lucy and towards a strong vortex of wind that nearly took the girl’s green cap with it. 

Lucy’s fear turned into confusion as she watched the large, intimidating ghost begin to scramble about the room frantically, trying to get away from… _ A small old man with a red vacuum cleaner…? _

The old man chuckled as he appeared to fight with the ghost using said vacuum. Even being dragged across the room by the ghost, as they tried to find an escape. It was however, a losing battle from the start for the old man, as the large specter managed to pull themselves through a wall and escape the harsh winds of the device with an outraged and defeated scream. Causing the stout man to fall flat with a dull thud from the lack of force now, the vacuum switching off on it’s own and leaving the room to fall deathly silent once more.

Lucy stared at the collapsed form of the old man for only a second, admittedly frazzled at what had just suddenly transpired in front of her, before finally rushing to the side of her apparent savior to help him back up.

He grumbled slightly, startled by the sudden assistance, but was grateful nonetheless. “Oh, thank you, missy…” He shared a glance with her only briefly before looking to where the ghost had escaped from, a wet spot imprinted on the jade wall. “Argh… I sure take a lot of knocks in this line of work…”

He stood up easily, having Lucy back up a bit as he continued to grumble. “I’m getting too old for this ghost-catching tomfoolery.” He brushed some dust that caught in his lab coat before extending a hand to Lucy, making her jump instinctively. “Anyhoo… Nice to meet you, I am Professor E Gadd.”

Lucy brightened, taking the hand with slight shyness. Quickly being caught off guard by the strong grip this frail looking man had on her, as he shook earnestly. “O-Oh, um… I’m Lucy...N-nice to meet you too.” E Gadd tilted his head slightly in thought, though his snaggle tooth smile remained present. “Lucy, huh? Sounds familiar… Eh! Whatever.” He pulled back from the handshake so suddenly that Lucy stumbled forward a bit, but was lucky she didn’t fall on her face, as the man glanced about the empty room. 

Apparently unbothered by the string of drool that had still connected his hand to her drenched one.

“Oy vey, this house… I swear it seems to have more and more ghosts everyday!” The professor looked back at Lucy curiously. “What’s a young lady such as yerself even doing around here, anyhoo? You don't exactly strike me as the type of gal to go roaming abandoned buildings all by yerself!"

"Oh! Um… W-well you see, me and  **MY GOD IT'S BACK!!** " Lucy squealed, trying to duck behind the smaller frame of the old professor in terror of the familiar, yellow ghost behind him.

And it looked like they brought some friends along as well, two more looking just like it materializing into the room with them.

"Uh oh! This looks ugly…" E Gadd said glancing over to the three ghosts now sharing the room with them, and beginning to slowly descend onto the duo. 

Lucy squeaked when she felt the man's hand firmly grab hers and pull her away from the scene. "Alright, missy! Small talk can wait! Now look alive and follow me, posthaste!"

And they ran.


	2. Planning and Panting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planning on both ends.

"Ah… I see." The old man mumbled thoughtfully in his chair, facing away from his green guest and to the large computer desk.

Lucy stood uncomfortably in the large, underground headquarters that was professor E Gadd's ghost research laboratory.  _ Or just the lab if you wanted it short. _

It was not as cozy as he would've liked to claim, as there was a lot of odd mechanical junk that jutted out from the dirt floor. As well as that terrible, cold draft that'd waft in from somewhere out the walls and cause Lucy to shudder. 

The persistent layer of pink saliva only added an extra chill to roll down her spine from when that large ghoul attacked her… 

_ Oh, she didn't want to even think of that! _

But, she couldn't really complain  _ too much. _ This was preferable compared to the old, run-down,  _ and as previously stated _ ,  **ghost** _ infested _ mansion that laid just outside.

"S-so…" Lucy started with a tremble. Trying to shake off this persistent chill that ran it's icy fingers down her wet back. "Do you know what happened to Mary…?"

She had filled the old man in on her tale once they were finally in the safety of the crooked, makeshift bunker. The professor was seemingly knowledgeable on certain tidbits, given away with quiet nods and small comments, like  _ "so that's what that sound was." _ Or one that flat out agreed with her, that the whole "Free Mansion" flier was extremely suspicious and that Mary was dumb for thinking it was anything but.

E Gadd didn't turn around to look at Lucy when he answered her question about her sister, finding the random tabs he was quickly pulling up far too interesting to look away from. "Oho yeah. I saw the red cladded missy walking into that there mansion… Quite a rude thing, that one. Didn't even stop to say wave!" 

Lucy perked up with a hopeful look in her eyes as she sputtered. "O-oh! That's great! I mean, that you saw her… N-not the, um…  _ Entering _ the house bit… Did you see her come out?"

In the reflection on the glass monitor, she could see the old man's brow furrow as his seemingly never ending smile faltered slightly. His eyes remained glued to the computer even as he swiveled his chair slightly towards her direction.

"Unfortunately, no. Ya see, well…" He tried and failed to word it in a way that gave the young lady next to him some hope for her sister, and not completely break the poor girl's heart.

But… He sighed, finally looking over to Lucy as he spoke. "Them ghosts in that mansion are a real menace, my girl. Especially that King Boo fella. Which I'm sure yer, um…  _ Familiar  _ with?" 

He winced when he saw her visibly pale at the mention of that large ghost, clearly putting the pieces together already. "If we're lucky, she's probably just been captured."

"C-CAPTURED?!" Lucy squeaked. E Gadd nodded as he turned back to the computer, plinking its many keys with one hand while the other was jamming a finger in his damaged ear from the girl's impressive volume. "Well, would you have preferred she'd been eaten?" He questioned with slight annoyance.

Lucy covered her mouth to suppress another squeal, absolutely horrified at the prospect. The old man took her silence as a good enough answer as he typed away.

"Not to worry, my girl! You have a top tier ghost researcher at your service!" He announced proudly with a hoot of laugh, successfully snapping the distressed woman out of her horror to look up at him curiously. 

"Now here's the plan: I'm gonna teach ya how to deal with ghosts, so you can rescue yer sister, Lucy!"

"W-what!?" Lucy squeaked.

"Ya wanna save that dope of a sister now, don't ya?" He asked with an excited vigor you wouldn't normally see in an old man his age as he jumped up from his chair and onto the floor with a grin.

Lucy stood there for a second, thinking what would be the best course of action to take. And the more she thought, the more she felt… Determined to save her,  _ hopefully just imprisoned, _ sister from the clutches of that horrible ghoul! 

And the other upside to that would be to get revenge for both Mary and herself after being toyed with and practically violated by that no good King Boo!

She smiled for the first time that day with a thunderous glint in her deep blue eyes. "Alright then! Where do I start?"

E Gadd hooted in amusement at the girl's newfound spunk, he found it suited her much better. "Come on over here! I know I left that ol Poltergust here somewhere!"

* * *

He was panting.

Now, you wouldn't think a ghost had any need to do that as they are, well… A ghost. But, King Boo had been floating there in his chambers, somehow short of breath.

Maybe it was the fact he had to really fight his way out of that infernal, red hunk of junk's vortex to not get himself imprisoned… Again. He had just gotten out for fuck sake! And he wasn't exactly planning on getting trapped in that cursed black void that was his canister anytime soon.

**_"What… The hell was…_ ** **_That...?!_ ** **_"_ **

Or maybe it was the memory of that green cladded woman with the…  _ Strange taste. _

To say that it caught him off guard with how she tasted… Well, he would consider it a  _ massive _ understatement.

_ Oh sure _ , he had eaten a human or two before in the past... _ It wasn't his first rodeo with trespassers coming into his place of haunting after all! The whole "FREE MANSION _ "  _ trap was a tried and true method of capturing desperate and dumb future ornaments. _ Some he ate, some he hung up as decor. Such as that previous red  _ visitor _ of his, the new centerpiece of his beloved collection. 

Her being the famous hero of the mushroom kingdom, trapped and under his rule, was certainly something to gawk at.

But… Then that green woman came knocking… who's taste was just so… He didn't know how to describe it properly. **_Different?_** **_Hypnotic?_** _He had definitely felt like he had been put under some sort of trace..._ And her damn scent wasn't helping it either!

The ghost groaned in agitation. 

_ This was so fucking stupid… _

He didn't want to have his mind constantly replaying that  _ dumb _ situation between him and that tiny woman, relooping to when he had inevitably caught his tiny, adorable prey.

But he couldn't help it!

She was so small and defenseless under him, and just so cute with how much she had squirmed to try and get out from under him. The light ripples she had caused in her futile effort were gratifying for the large ghost, who thrived off fear and fear alone. 

Delicious even.

So tasty… 

And that's when that odd stench wafted into his nonexistent nose again. The same aroma alerted him to her presence from the beginning, but this time it was much…  _ Thicker… _

The smell of a misty morning in the mossy woods seemed to add to the girl's flavor somehow. It smelled… Minty. Something sharp and almost spicy, openly present in the air that left a refreshing chill in his breath. Something that had compelled his curiosity to taste her further. 

Something…  _ Alive seeming to stir in his core, ironically. Something about gazing down at the poor, whimpering girl who reeked of submission, had made him growl hungrily. _

And goddamn, when he noticed that a thick drop of drool had hit her face, making that adorable little blush worsen and feeling her fucking  _ shiver  _ against him; He had felt downright  _ possessive. _

He just felt so compelled to lick more of her, to see why she had smelt and tasted so damn  **_good._ ** Why every little whimper she made made him want to sink his teeth into her and never let go. **_He just wanted more._ **

The ghost had snapped from his memory to find himself drooling again, like some rabid poltermutt. 

He felt unnaturally hungry.

He shook his head, annoyed and frustrated at both himself and that green girl he didn't even know the name of.  _ The latter moreso _ … As in the end, she  _ had  _ managed to get away with the help of that old bastard and his musty vacuum…

_ Still… _

King Boo furrowed his brow, once more lost in thought as that green woman popped into his mind again. This time, a little more purposefully. 

The ghoul will admit that he was just a  _ bit curious _ about her. Not to mention he did enjoy that little taste test of his…

* * *

"Hey! I think I got the hang of this, E Gadd!" Lucy exclaimed with breathy excitement, a bit of sweat beading down the side of her face from the practice runs as she proudly held up the tube of the Poltergust.

She couldn't tell you how nerve-wracking it was. Having to face another one of those horrible, yellow ghosts, just to practice. Of course, E Gadd reassured her vehemently that those kinds of ghosts were actually very easy to deal with, once you got used to handling a Poltergust, of course. She shouldn't have to worry about them as long as she remained alert. 

And the old man was right, for the most part. As Lucy had begun wielding the vacuum with apparent ease, miraculously not as heavy as she originally figured.

_ "That's fantastic to hear, my girl!" _ The small old man exclaimed with encouraging excitement over the staticky intercom of the testing grounds. His next words came a little more sternly as he asked the important question.  _ "Do ya think yer ready for what that there mansion has in store for you now?" _

Lucy tensed at this immediately, but refused to let that show in her expression. Glancing down at the tube of the Poltergust in her hand. 

Her grip tightened with her resolve, before nodding.

The laugh that came was bit-crushed. 

* * *

"You're staying here?" She asked suddenly.

E.Gadd couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her alarmed reaction, but had the good Grace's to look at least a little apologetic towards the timid girl. "I'm too old for the brunt of the work, I'm sure you know. I'd always preferred the data science of it anyway… Either way, I wouldn't be of much help, my girl."

Lucy's head drooped at that, knowing that she'd have to go in completely alone. "I… I see." She mumbled.

She jumped when she felt him pat her back with reassurance, chuckling lightly at her reaction. "Don't think yer gonna be completely by yerself in this though, missy! You can always contact me through…"

The scientist paused for a second before starting to ruffle through his lab coat, searching for something and grumbling in mild irritation as he did. 

He nearly hit the startled woman in the face when he quickly pulled out a strange rectangular device with a hoot of victory. "THIS!"

Lucy stuttered a bit as he proudly handed the new gadget to her. "W-what uh,  _ is _ this?"

"The  _ Game Boy Horror Communication Device!  _ Or… The GBH, if ya wanna be boring." E.Gadd explained. "If ya need any advice on what to do or where to go,  _ or ya just need some words of encouragement from yours truly, _ ring me up on this here doohickey! Okay?"

Lucy nodded hesitantly as she stuck the glorified mobile phone in her back pocket, at least a little tided over at the idea.

E.Gadd laughed. "Wonderful! Now off ya pop, my girl! You gotta dumb sister to save!"

She frowned a little at that. "Her name is Mary."

"She'll forever be the nitwit who fell for spam mail to me…" The professor grumbled under his breath as he watched Lucy leave the safety of the bunker, the old metal door screaming as she pushed it open. 

"OH! Do be careful!" He quickly called out to her from the door, waving a pleasant goodbye.

Lucy turned back to him, waving with her own encouraging smile before turning back to the daunting mansion in front of her. The cold gust of air shaking the dead trees doing nothing to quell the undeniable tremor in her boots.

But, the weight of the red vacuum on her back grounded Lucy's fears and steeled her resolve. Reminding her that she was much more prepared for what that evil mansion and its ghosts had in store.

With that in mind, she walked right back up to the mansion's old doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one feels a wee shorter than the last one, but hey! That's just supposed to be the whole set up and character stuffs sooo... ye.


End file.
